


if this is settling down, then why aren't you here

by onlykaspbrakk



Series: take a vaction! [1]
Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Bisexual Eric Forman, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, but if you havent seen it now you probably never will, star wars a new hope spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 06:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26847406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlykaspbrakk/pseuds/onlykaspbrakk
Summary: Eric and Buddy and the important moments in their relationship
Relationships: Eric Forman/Buddy Morgan
Series: take a vaction! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958431
Comments: 4
Kudos: 82





	if this is settling down, then why aren't you here

SEPTEMBER, 1976

“Did you hear Bowie is a queer?” Kelso said, kicking his legs up onto Eric’s table and leaning back.

“Really? Where’d you hear that?” Donna leaned away from Eric’s arm, which was slung across the top of the couch, and towards Kelso. 

“Yeah, he’s... bisexual? He said it in some interview, Jackie told me.” 

“What’s that mean?” Eric spoke this time, curious as to what that meant, as far as he knew there were only gay and straight no others, and according to most one was good and the other was bad.

“Means he wants to do both or whatever. I say good on him man, he has double the options.” Hyde said, relaxed as always. Eric wasn’t sure as to why Hyde’s acceptance meant so much to him, but damn it, it did. He felt vaguely like he was on fire and was being extinguished all at once. He guesses that’s how fire worked most of the time, but that was besides what he was trying to say. Hyde was like his brother, and him accepting people who were different than him made his chest feel light. That didn’t mean anything of course. He wasn’t gay. He liked Donna. Ever since she had kissed him they’d been dancing around each other. Frankly, they were both scared to make a move. Eric knew why he was, he was scared of never getting their friendship back to it was the way before any of this. Eric didn’t want to mess up anything between them. He respected her and didn’t want to hurt her, but he also wanted to be with her. 

After that, the conversation was over. The group talking about something Eric wasn’t really listening to. He had expected… more. Expected them to declare that they’d no longer listen to his music, saying they hated him and protest against him, but they didn’t. Eric leans back into the couch, joining back into the conversation. 

DECEMBER, 1976

In all honesty, Eric had not thought about Buddy Morgan in many years. When you’re a kid, you’re forced to be friends with your parent’s friends, but now Eric got to choose his friends and Buddy was not one of the people in that group. Charles Morgan was a doctor and Eric’s mom had been working with him for as long as he could remember so it was only logical they be friends as children. They were pretty close up until sixth grade when things like money and looks started to define who you are. Eric even remembered when Buddy stopped telling people his name was Jason, and he decided to be Buddy instead. He could still hear Buddy walking up to him at just 5 years old saying, “I don’t want to be Ason anymore,” He wasn’t able to pronounce juh sounds very well (which his parents later sent him to speech therapy for), “I wanna be… Buddy!” To which Eric just replied with, “Okay Buddy, wanna see my new toy?”

Now, Buddy was taller, Eric still taller than him, but only by a couple of inches, Hair a shade or two darker, and he was sitting next to Eric. They had just been assigned new lab partners for chemistry and his just so happened to be The Buddy Morgan. It was weird to talk to him again after not talking to him for so long. 

“Hey, Buddy! How have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been pretty good, how about you?”

“Great.”

“So, uh, I was wondering if I could borrow your notes?”

“Oh, sure. Meet me by my car after class?” 

“Oh yeah, of course.” Buddy turned back to the front of the room, quiet now. 

This was awkward. Neither of them knew what to say to each other after not having talked to each other for so long. Maybe they were just too different now to get along. Maybe they’d have one of those partnerships where the only speaking was going over the answers and then promptly ignoring each other after the fact. Eric wasn’t sure he wanted that. With anyone else, maybe that would be okay but this was Buddy. The same Buddy who was the one who knocked out his front tooth jumping on Eric’s bed, causing them to tear the room apart looking for said tooth. “Eric! If we don’t find it the tooth fairy won’t come!” Buddy had said, frantically pulling the blankets off the bed. After hours of searching, they found it after enlisting Kitty to help them find it. Red had called them a dumbass for losing the tooth that way in the first place and the pair had laughed, whispering the second they were far enough away. 

Eric glances over at Buddy, ignoring the teacher going on about today’s assignment. It seemed Buddy was in his own little world too. He was looking forward, but not quite that the teacher, his dark eyes looking far away. Eric took this moment to study Buddy’s face. His facial features were sharp and his dark hair fell over his eyes. If Eric’s hair was that long, Red would be on him about getting a haircut, but the look worked on Buddy. The slightly too long hair was part of the charm. His eyes, despite being dark, still sparkled. If Eric was a girl he’d probably be head over heels for Buddy. Eric turned his head away, figuring that if he stared for too long people might start to talk. Not that he really cared, a bunch of people he would probably forget after he went to college spreading lies about him didn’t really bother him too much. It’s not like they were true or anything. 

Eric decides to focus on the writing now taking up the chalkboard, quickly jotting it down. If Buddy was still the same Buddy he knew from elementary school, Eric needed to be the one who paid attention in science. Buddy was smart, but science and math weren’t really his best areas. 

The teacher talked throughout the entire class period. Never giving Eric a chance to catch up with Buddy some more. Eric had time, but it would be nice to be able to talk to him sooner than later. He’s missed him. He didn’t really notice that he did before he had the chance of having Buddy back, but he did. There was a time where he considered him his best friend, but things had changed. Buddy wasn’t the same kid he had read Batman comics hidden under his Spider-Man sheets with a flashlight, giggling thinking they were being sneaky. That was okay, people change. Eric wasn’t that person anymore either. Well, maybe just a little bit. He still had the Spider-Man sheets. 

After the class was over Eric gathered his things. Chemistry class was his last of the day, meaning that he could get straight home after giving Buddy those notes from yesterday he needed. Eric needed a nap. After Eric was ready, he looked up to see Buddy waiting for him by the door, he gave him a soft smile which Eric returned. Eric quickly walked over to him, ”Hey.”

“Hey. You ready?” Eric gave a nod, following him out the door. It’s freezing outside, but that’s nothing new considering it's winter in Wisconsin. Eric was used to the frigid winters after living in Point Place his entire life. 

“Here, this is basically all you need to know about Bohr’s theory of atomic structure.” He handed the notes over to Buddy. 

“Cool man, thanks. I appreciate it.” Buddy skims the notes for a moment before looking up at Eric, “Listen, you don’t mind me being your chemistry lab partner?” He sounds worried like for some reason Eric wouldn’t want to. He’s not sure why Buddy would think that. He’s concerned he gave that impression somehow.

“No, why would I mind?” 

“Just cuz I, uh, you know, I tend to blow things up,” He laughs lightly. He seems like he just made that up on the spot, but he wasn’t sure. He doesn’t give Eric the chance to respond before he walks over to the red Trans Am that was often parked next to him. 

“Woah, Woah. Buddy, what are you doing?” Eric’s voice riddled with confusion. He’d never seen anyone get in, or out, of that car, but that didn’t make Eric any less confused. 

Buddy pauses, looking away from the car and towards Eric, “Unlocking my car?”

“No way! This is your car!” Eric all but yells. He’s been jealous of whoever owns this car for weeks now, only to find out that it's been Buddy all along. “Oh, so you’re the guy I hate.”

Buddy laughs, not affected by Eric’s remark, “Yeah that’d be me.”

“Can I just-” Eric gestures towards the car.

“Yeah, man.”

“I’m so glad you’re my lab partner.” 

Buddy smiles “I can take you for a ride if you want.”

“No way,” Eric says shocked, he pauses a minute to make sure that Buddy’s being serious, “Oh, let’s go!”

Immediately after Eric gets in the car he begins rolling the windows up and down, needing to know what it feels like. After doing it once, he does it again, and again, and again-

“Hey, don’t do that.” Eric moves his hand away from the window, awkwardly before Buddy adds, “I’m kidding!” and laughs. Eric joins in. It feels nice to be able to laugh with him again. He moves to start the car, “What do you want to do?”

“Maybe we could go to the hub?” 

Buddy shrugs, “That’s okay with me.” After a beat of silence, “I missed you, man.”

“I missed you too, dude.” 

The pair is quiet on the way to The Hub, with only the radio playing softly in the background. Once you arrive, Buddy parks, the pair of you walking in. 

“Uh, Buddy you know everyone,” Eric says, walking up to the table that Jackie, Donna, and Fez are sitting at. 

“Hi,” Buddy says. He seems shy, most likely due to people he hasn’t seen in years and didn’t know all too well in the first place. “Uh, no, I don’t think we’ve actually met.” Buddy extends his hand to Fez to shake.

“No, I am Fez. My gosh Buddy, with a car like that you must be knee-deep in whores.”

Buddy looks at Eric, confused by Fez’s words, Eric, not knowing how to explain, amends with asking the gang to head back to his house. Eric’s friends all get up to head home. Or, well, to the Forman’s basement, which was close enough.

Once in the basement, they turn on the TV, watching an episode of Gilligan’s Island, “Guys, they’re finally getting off the island!” 

The room is briefly silent, before Eric speaks, “No, Fez they’re not getting off the island.” 

“But they have a coconut radio. What could go wrong?” He pauses and returns his attention to the TV in front of them, “Oh, Gilligan.”

The silence doesn’t last long, Hyde and Kelso are coming into the basement door. 

“Oh, there you guys are, where have you been?”

“Where have we been? Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you!”

“We had to walk all the way here, man! My feet are killing me!”

Kelso walks closer to Eric, picking up his hand, “Are your fingers broken?” He throws Eric’s hand back into his lap, “Can’t you use a phone?” If Eric’s being honest, this is a little embarrassing. He hasn’t seen Buddy in years and now Hyde and Kelso are lecturing him. 

Despite Eric’s reddening face, Hyde continues on, “Do you know it’s freezing outside? And I’m wearing my uncle’s boots so now I have a blister!”

Thankfully Donna speaks up, stopping them from the ongoing rant, “Shaggy, Scooby, we got company.”

Hyde moves from Eric, heading towards where Buddy’s sitting, “Huh, Buddy Morgan.” Buddy gives him a small wave, “ Yeah I know you.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s my fault I gave Eric a ride home so uh,” Eric can tell he’s not really sure how he’s supposed to be talking to Hyde 

Hyde steps closer to Buddy, “Get out of my chair.”

“Okay!” Buddy hops out of the white plastic chair, “I really ought to be going anyway, so uh. Oh hey, your car’s still at school huh?” He adds, pointing at Eric.

“Yeah, you’re damn right it is!”

“Well, I could drop you off if you want?” 

“Yeah sure, and hey guys I’m really sorry I forgot you,” Eric says, moving from his place on the top of the sofa.

Buddy holds his keys out in front of Eric, “Did you wanna drive?”

“Hell yes!” He grabs the keys and takes off running up the stairs, Buddy following shortly after. 

“I call backseat!” Fez adds and takes off running after them.

Eric’s never been so excited to drive a car. This was the kind of car that Eric could only dream of owning one day. Eric thought he was a good driver, but with a car like this, he had to be sure he was. Eric couldn’t imagine the consequences if he crashed a car this nice. Red might actually kill him for that, especially if they had to pay the Morgans back for it. Buddy had laughed at his nervousness, but Buddy didn’t really have to worry about money. Eric noticed that in Jackie too, she didn’t care as much about stuff because she could afford to buy it again if something happened to it. Eric wasn’t positive about how much doctors make, but that didn’t matter. He knew they made a lot and on top of that, the Morgans came from a long line of money. 

“Thanks for letting me drive, oh, and for letting Fez come.”

“Of course, we are friends after all,” Buddy says, his eyes sparkling, “Right?” 

“Yeah, friends.” Buddy smiles at Eric. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“Of course.” Eric reaches up to pat Buddy on the shoulder, before unlocking and getting in his car. 

Over the next couple of weeks, the pair spent a lot of time together and Eric’s fears proved to be false. Buddy was still, well, Buddy. He still collects comic books and spends his free time reading them. He still loved to read books of all kinds and he talked about the metaphors hidden in the records they listened too, he was still just as bad at basketball as Eric was but Eric still had just as much, if not more, fun as he had with Donna. Eric knows he shouldn’t be comparing Buddy and Donna. They were completely different! He liked Donna romantically and Buddy was just a friend. Eric had just missed Buddy, he’s known him just as long as Donna. That had to be the reason he was comparing them mentally. Eric couldn’t come up with any more reasons than that. It didn’t really matter, it wasn’t like he was in love with Buddy. He just missed him. 

One of the activities Eric and Buddy choose to do is go to the movie theater. He picks out the movie Car Wash. Eric isn’t sure he’d like it, but anything to spend more time with Buddy. Eric honestly wasn’t sure how long their friendship would be able to last. Once in the car, Eric remembers he forgot to call Donna. It wasn’t that he was blowing her off, it was more so that he kept getting distracted and forgetting he was supposed to. “Oh! Ugh!” Eric says, putting his hands on his face.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Eric says, though he has no reason to lie about what had actually happened, “I forgot to call Donna.”

“Oh, Donna. So she’s like your, uh, girlfriend?

“I don’t know,” Eric opens his mouth to speak again, he tried to think of what they actually are, but he came to realize they’d never put words to it, “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay to be confused Eric.”

“Yeah, you know sometimes I feel like, I don’t know, like we're in a movie right? And um I’m nervous around her and I feel like I’m playing this part right? But it’s not me.” Eric had never told anyone this, but he felt like he could trust Buddy. Like Buddy would listen to anything he told him. 

“Mhm hmm,” Buddy hums in agreement, before Eric feels his hand on the back of his neck, and kisses him. Eric briefly kisses back, before pushing Buddy away. Why had he kissed back?

“Woah! Woah! Woah! You are- y-you’re gay!” Eric says, pushing himself all the way to the other side of the seat.

“Me? No I’m not gay,” Buddy laughed.

Eric was confused, why had Buddy kissed him if he wasn’t, “You’re not? But you just kissed me.” 

“Okay I’m gay.” 

Eric didn’t know what else to say, Buddy was gay and had a move on Eric. “Can you take me home now?” Buddy starts the car, and pulls out of the parking lot. Neither of the boys chose to talk for a while, but Eric figured he had to say something.

“Look I’m not gay.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Buddy said, understanding, “Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“Because I just thought that-”

“Why would you think that?” Eric said, cutting him off. He didn’t think he was giving off any signals or anything.

“We’ve been spending so much time together-” 

“Because we're friends! I’ve been friends with Hyde for years and I’ve never put the moves on him!” Eric and Buddy had been friends for years too, so maybe the ‘friends for years’ part didn’t get his point across as well as he wanted it to. 

“I don’t blame you, that guy’s a jerk.”

“Yeah, well, yeah but that’s not the reason its because I’m not gay!”

“Right. Well, I’m sorry for kissing you.”

“It’s okay. I mean its… let’s just forget about it.” Why had Eric said it was okay? It wasn’t. Eric wasn’t gay and he didn’t like Buddy. Buddy had just nodded and went back to silently driving 

“Do you wanna listen to the radio?” Buddy reached over to turn it on, causing Eric to jump.

“Hey I told you I wasn’t gay!” After that, Buddy stopped trying to make conversation. Eric was grateful for that. He didn’t hate Buddy, but he needed time to process what had happened. 

Buddy dropped Eric off at his house. Eric opted to enter through the basement door. 

“Hey, Eric. Hows it-” Eric didn’t let her finish her sentence before pulling her into a kiss. It had felt different compared to his kiss with Buddy. The whole reason he was kissing Donna right now was to get the kiss with his other friend out of his mind, but he just couldn’t.

Eric put his hand around Donna’s waist, holding her close to him. “So what’s everyone looking at?”

“What are we looking at? Man, we haven’t seen you in days!”

“Oh well Hyde you had to walk all the way home from school again?” Eric was pissed off at Hyde saying that, though there was no way for Hyde to know what had just happened between him and Buddy, he shouldn’t be taking his less than great mood out on Hyde. Eric thought back to Buddy saying that Hyde’s an asshole, and how right he was. 

“That’s not the only reason we're upset with you!”

“It’s my only reason,” Hyde said, looking over at Kelso.

“I thought you had another reason?”

Hyde shrugged, “No that’s pretty much it.”

“Where’s Buddy?” Donna said, interrupting the two's conversation. Eric was hoping everyone would just forget about the boy he was spending so much time with.

“Oh Buddy, well Buddy got... busy so…” 

Eric’s delivery wasn’t the most convincing, but thankfully Jackie said, “Yeah I mean I’m sure he has a lot to do he is ‘popular’.” 

“Yes, and so obviously gay.” Was it really that obvious? How had Fez noticed but Eric hadn’t? Fez had only spent about an hour with him and known.

“Buddy is NOT gay!”

“Please Fez, that’s just stupid if Buddy was gay he would have been all over me,” The gang looks over at Kelso, the kind of look that said ‘bullshit’, “Well he would of.”

The group continued to argue about wether or not Buddy really was gay, until Eric decided he had enough and kicked them out of his house. 

“See you guys later!” Before Donna could leave, Hyde grabs her waist, pulling her towards Eric.

“So Forman, uh now that the scary kids are gone, is Buddy gay?”

“Well I don’t really think it’s my place to-” Eric said, trying his best to protect Buddy's secret. 

That didn’t work on Donna and Hyde, “He’s gay!” They had said. Eric should have just said no, but he wasn’t thinking straight.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, he figured he should talk to his friends about what had happened, “Okay guys hypothetical situation, crazy scenario, wouldn’t happen in like a million years, let’s say, that Buddy made a move on me.”

“Eric he’s not gonna make a move on you if he knows you're straight.” Had Buddy thought Eric was gay? What had made Buddy think that?

“I don’t know, I mean Forman is pretty irresistible,” Hyde said, smirking. 

“I don’t think he’ll make a move on me again,” Eric had added, mostly to himself. Unfortunately, both Hyde and Donna had heard.

“Again?”

“Or for the first time,” Eric amended, “I gotta go.”

Eric spent his weekend thinking about what had happened, and what had made Buddy think that he might be, like him. Eric tried to figure it out but he just couldn’t. Eric did know that he had to make amends with Buddy. Buddy probably thought he hated him considering his less than ideal reaction. 

After his last class when he returned to school, he jogged to the parking lot to catch up with Buddy, “Hey Buddy! Um I’m gonna need those chemistry notes back.”

“Oh, yeah. Listen man, if you don’t wanna be my lab partner anymore then I’ll understand.” Buddy had begun digging through his stuff in search of the notes.

This wasn’t going the way Eric had wanted it to go, “No no, I didn’t mean it like that, um, we’re still friends.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Eric had figured there was no better time like the present, so he added, “And actually Buddy I wanna ask why, um, why why, um, me?” 

“I don’t know man, it's probably the same reason Donna likes you, you know you’re smart and sensitive and nice looking.”

Eric felt the need to show Buddy that he wasn’t actually any of those things. If Buddy thought he was the opposite, he wouldn’t like him anymore. Right? “Okay well, first of all I’m not really that smart, those notes I gave you, copied. And as for sensitive sometimes I can just be downright mean.”

“You’re so cute!”

Eric let himself accept the compliment, “Well that is- well I guess I am, yeah.” Eric reached out to lightly punch Buddy’s arm, not really knowing what to do with himself, just standing there.

FEBRUARY, 1977 

It had taken a while for Eric and Buddy to get back to normal, but once they were they had fallen into a routine. Sitting in Buddy’s room, doing homework right after school. The Forman’s basement during the evenings and weekends. The music playing in the background was soft, but still loud enough that you could understand it. Listening to music with Buddy was an entirely different experience than it was anyone Eric had ever met. 

Buddy didn’t just listen to music, he Listened to it. He talked about what he thought the words meant and he was able to relate any song to something that had happened to him. 

Currently, they were listening to one of Buddy’s new records, it had just come out that month. Rumors, by Fleetwood Mac. Eric had liked it well enough, but Buddy loved it. He mouthed the lyrics and some he even sung (and if Eric was watching his mouth move the whole time who was going to say anything about it?). 

Eric was distracted. He wasn’t paying attention. Forgot who and where and when he was, something about Buddy’s lips, and his dimples, and his straight teeth that made Eric want to lean in. 

And he did. 

Both boys' eyes were still open, Eric staring into Buddy’s deep chocolate brown eyes. Just as Eric closed his eyes and leaned in, Buddy pulled away, mumbling a quick sorry and turning his attention back to his school work. 

And then Eric remembered. 

Eric remembered who and where and when he was,

Maybe Eric wasn’t as straight as he thought.

APRIL, 1977 

“Hey, Buddy? Can I ask you a question?” Eric glanced over at his friend, who nodded in response, not bothering to look up. Eric took a deep breath, scared of the words about to come out of his mouth. He wasn’t so scared to ask, but he was scared to find out what the answer may mean for him. “How, how did you know you were gay?”

Buddy put down the pencil he was holding, looking over at Eric, his eyes questioning. “I was about eleven. We had just gone into 6th grade and I met Chris Moore and all I wanted to do was spend time with him.” 

Eric knew Chris, he was on the football team. Eric also remembered Buddy meeting him and spending less time with Eric, “Go on.”

“He’d talk about how pretty the cheerleaders are and I would just sit there and listen, thinking about how I wanted to hold his hand. I knew there was a name for what I was feeling, so I went to the library. They have books that talk about it, hidden so the general public don’t see them, and I read it. I instantly knew that was me. It just felt like a, like a flood to be able to hear something and identify with it. Put a name to it, ya know?”

Eric thought he did, he thought about David Bowie and how happy it made him that Hyde didn’t care about him being bisexual, he thought about Buddy kissing him in Buddy’s car, and he thought about how it felt with Buddy’s lips inches from his before he moved and apologized. He thought about how breaking up with Donna just a month ago had made him feel so much better. Eric nodded in response to Buddy’s question, “Have you ever had a boyfriend?”

Buddy nodded, “Once. When I was 15.” Buddy didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it, so Eric didn’t push him. He never wanted Buddy to feel like he had to do something he didn’t want to do. 

“Thanks,” Eric muttered, looking over at Buddy. Buddy smiled at him, going back to the homework he had laid out in front of him. 

After their conversation, Eric was starting to figure it all out. Starting to come to terms with it instead of pushing it away like he had done earlier. Eric knew he was bisexual. 

Thinking it made it seem much realer than it had before, hitting him like a train. He couldn’t even imagine the weight involved with saying it outloud. This made him so much prouder of Buddy, who was able to carry it proudly, not like it was a burden pulling him down, and maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was something Eric would be able to be proud of one day. He knew there were people who were. Buddy had told him how there are people who have parades, just to show how proud of their sexualities they are. 

MAY, 1977 

The movie theatre was dark and cold, though it was always cold. Eric slowly ate a piece of popcorn as the commercials played, barely paying attention to them as Buddy leaned over and whispered to him, telling him things about the ad playing or just random things he had felt like saying. Their fingers brushed occasionally as they both reached for the popcorn, setting Eric’s skin on fire. 

The second the film started Eric was invested, the text scrolling down the screen, the lightsabers. Eric almost didn’t notice Buddy reaching over and grabbing his hand. Almost. Eric gives Buddy’s squeeze before turning his full attention back to the movie. 

“Oh my god! When in the beginning Han said he didn’t believe in the force but then he said, ‘May the force be with you,’ to Luke before he left but then he came back to help Luke! Luke was just a normal guy from a farm but he turned out to be able to use the force and he was so good! And when Darth Vader killed Obi Wan? Why did he just disappear?” 

“Maybe he didn’t really die?” Buddy said, opening the car door and getting in. Eric followed. 

“Oh my god! That would be so cool! Buddy you’re so smart!” Eric paused and looked up at Buddy. 

“You’re so cute! I love when you get really into something.” 

Eric responded the only way he knew how, by putting his hand on the side of Buddy’s face, kissing him. For a minute Buddy was still before wrapping an arm around Eric’s shoulders and kissing him back. Eric couldn’t help but feel like this situation was familiar, the car, the movie theater parking lot, Buddy’s lips against his own. 

It seemed Buddy had felt the same because as they pulled away for air Buddy leaned his forehead against Eric’s and said, “You’re not gonna freak out on me this time are you?” 

Eric just laughed and shook his head, “I like you, Buddy.”

“I like you too, Eric, but if i’m recalling correctly, you have avoided me twice because of this. I don’t want that again.” 

“I don’t want that either. I want you.” 

“It’s not like dating a girl, we have to be careful.” 

“If I wanted it to be like dating a girl I’d just date one,” Eric whispered, leaning back into to kiss Buddy again. Buddy pushed himself closer to Eric, lightly pulling on his bottom lip. 

Kissing Buddy wasn’t like kissing a girl either. The girls Eric had been with had wanted him to be gentle and wanted it to be perfect, minus Donna but that hadn’t lasted very long. Buddy didn’t seem to mind when their teeth clashed or when Eric accidentally bit his lip a little too hard. 

After too short of a time, Buddy pulled away, “Let me drive you home.” 

Eric felt like he couldn’t speak so he just nodded, reaching over to hold the hand Buddy wasn’t using to drive. 

He could definitely get used to this. 

OCTOBER, 1977 

“Please Buddy?”

“No, I don’t wanna dress up.”

“Not even for me?” Eric frowned. They had been arguing about this for weeks. Eric desperately wanted Buddy to dress up as Han Solo and he could be Luke, but refused, saying that they were seventeen years old and therefore too old to dress up. 

Eric wasn’t aware that there was an age limit on dressing up. 

Just days later, Buddy stood in Eric’s basement. With a costume. 

“You did it!” Eric ran over to Buddy, kissing his cheek.

“Couldn’t let you be Luke Skywalker all by yourself could I?” Buddy smiled, his dimples appearing. Eric could look at Buddy’s smile for the rest of his life. It was dazzling. Absolutely perfect. 

“Thank you,” Eric whispered privately. Just for Buddy. 

The moment was ruined by Hyde clearing his throat, “Are you ladies done?”

Eric blushed, dragging Buddy to the couch. 

Midway through the 2nd movie, Buddy fell asleep, leaning against Eric’s shoulder. God Eric loved him, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. He knew it was still a little soon to tell but Buddy made him happier than anyone had before. 

Eric pressed a soft kiss to Buddy’s hair before turning his attention back to the movie they were watching.

Thankfully, Eric’s friends were basically totally cool with his relationship with Buddy. He had told them all he was bisexual when he had first started dating Buddy and it had taken them a minute to get used to, but once they did they were totally accepting, making Eric feel better about everything. 

He couldn’t imagine ever being without them.

DECEMBER, 1979

“Are you excited for the ‘80s?” Buddy whispered into Eric’s ear. Buddy’s head rested on Eric’s shoulder. It was almost midnight, and the gang was sitting in the Forman’s basement, soft music playing in the background, and the room filled with smoke. 

Soon it would be 1980 and it was just slightly over 5 years since Buddy had kissed him for the first time, “Yeah, I am. Looking forward to every other year after this with you.”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I wish I could marry you, because I’d do it right now.”

“One day, and hey, even if that day never comes for us, I could still buy you a pretty ring to wear.” 

Buddy laughed, Eric ran his finger across his dimple, “I’d like that.” 

The room was quiet for a minute, but then the countdown started and Buddy sat up. 

FIVE 

FOUR

THREE 

TWO

ONE

Eric grabbed the side of Buddy’s face, kissing him. He could feel Buddy smiling. As he pulled apart he rested his head against Buddy’s, “Happy New Year, I love you.” 

It was a faint whisper, not loud enough for anyone else to hear, though Eric doubted they would notice even if he screamed it. Though, the phrase wasn’t just a whisper, it was a promise. Eric wasn’t quite sure what he was promising yet, but he knew it was sitting between them, waiting to be fulfilled.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumbr [here!](https://arthurscobra.tumblr.com/)


End file.
